By Michael Messina
Workers who wash cars for a living have it tough. The water, the chemicals, the long hours all equal harsh working conditions.
But things are starting to look up for over 100 “carwasheros” in Los Angeles. Over a dozen car wash locations in Southern California, from Ventura to San Diego, have signed union contracts in recent months, thanks to our friends at the United Steelworkers and their terrific collaboration with the Community Labor Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) car wash campaign. What will that mean for the workers? Better wages, better working conditions and a voice on the job. The CLEAN campaign, in conjunction with the United Steelworkers Local 675, has been working to spread the word of these unionized workers, now totaling 133 employees.